[Leanan]

An article from the Wall St. Journal:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') global boom in the market price for commodities, including steel and aluminum, has sent scrap-metal prices soaring. And that has created a tempting target for criminals world-wide in everyday objects that contain metals -- from light poles along highways to lowly beer kegs.

In the past few months, Belgium's main railway station has lost nearly all of its 800 aluminum luggage carts. German railway operator Deutsche Bahn says metal thieves recently dismantled and carted off three miles of idle rail track outside Weimar. In Beijing, a European commodities analyst noted, some 25,000 manhole covers have gone missing since the start of last year. They were replaced with concrete plugs.

How bad is it getting? Last month, groundskeepers at the Royal Johor Country Club in Malaysia discovered that somebody had taken the aluminum cups from 12 holes on the golf links.

[PolestaR]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Leanan', 'A')n article from the Wall St. Journal: $this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') global boom in the market price for commodities, including steel and aluminum, has sent scrap-metal prices soaring. And that has created a tempting target for criminals world-wide in everyday objects that contain metals -- from light poles along highways to lowly beer kegs. --snip-- How bad is it getting? Last month, groundskeepers at the Royal Johor Country Club in Malaysia discovered that somebody had taken the aluminum cups from 12 holes on the golf links.

[pup55]

Landfill Contents

The typical lanfill landfill we have in the country is a higher percentage of metal than many ore deposits, plus the metal is in a more refined state. Note that the 11% plastic content is actually about the same hydrocarbon level than the oil sands of Alberta.

So it's only a matter of time before it becomes worth it to dig all of this stuff back up and reprocess it. The Europeans are far ahead of everybody in the area of processing it before it gets buried in the first place. Bauxite

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')n average of 3.6 tons of crude ore was mined in 1997 for each ton of usable ore produced

[backstop]

I've a memorable mental image of seeing chaps in post-crash Albania sitting on the remains of one of the communist despot's vast array of small concrete bunkers, bashing away with hammers day after day just to retrieve the steel reinforcing rods . . . .
I don't think we have a clue how poor we're about to become. Personally I'm stockpiling lorry springs since these are of very good quality steel for tool-making and are of a size to be easily worked in a forge.

[The_Virginian]

Excellent idea, I have relatives who pay good prices overseas for scrap spring steel...and make it into knives etc.

1084 carbon steel has recently become a "specialty" steel, due to the last mill who made it closing...other grades are available..but they are either lower 1080 (.76-.82 of one percent Carbon) or higher 1096 ( .90-98 of one percent carbon) in grade and not as well suited to some tools.

truck springs are often 5160 or some other good alloy....

They make good swords/khukri's and knives.


I have changed my mind, and seeing what has gone on overseas in economicaly depressed areas, that there will NOT be as much steel and metal lying around for FREE as I once thought...

Junked cars (barring a nuclear war or plauge) will have been recylced into other cars, goods, or just palin shipped off to make re-bar in China's construction boom.

[falser]

Maybe I should get into the garbage business. Mining for precious metals in landfills is going to be a huge industry one day.

[horsestoaster]

My husband has hauled quite a few junk cars and usually loads 'em up with a bunch of other crap too(DOA bikes,DOA motors etc.).Still,at most,if he hauls all the way to Atlanta(only worth that trip for semis and such) he might get$7/per 100# in the ATL and as little as $3.00 per 100# (at the local place within 10miles of us).Somebody's makin' a buck,but it ain't us folk.It's worth recycling to us but it isn't a finacial subsistence that is easy or clean.Me-I wanna build some amish style buggies and stockpile THEM in the barn!!

[backstop]

Horsetoaster -Stockpiling buggies sounds an excellent notion - but are they still to be found ? Over here in the UK the vast majority were destroyed, a small fraction have been maintained or rebuilt, but there are hardly any left in the rough even out in farmers' sheds.

What I'd suggest if you should find them similarly scarce around your area is to seek the ironwork of horse-drawn vehicles in general, as this was usually of malleable cast iron and would be very difficult to replicate today.

Writing as a former wheelwright & carriage-builder, I can say that given a set of irons I could build you a vehicle to the original standard, but without them things are far more problematic, as I'd need the services of an exceptionally skilled blacksmith for a start.

[Zardoz]

Man!

Peak Oil, Peak Uranium, Peak Solar Panels, and now Peak Metals.

Does anybody else sense a trend developing here?

[Carrie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'M')an! Peak Oil, Peak Uranium, Peak Solar Panels, and now Peak Metals. Does anybody else sense a trend developing here?

[Russian_Cowboy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carrie', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'M')an! Peak Oil, Peak Uranium, Peak Solar Panels, and now Peak Metals. Does anybody else sense a trend developing here?

[Odin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'M')an! Peak Oil, Peak Uranium, Peak Solar Panels, and now Peak Metals. Does anybody else sense a trend developing here?

[peaker_2005]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carrie', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'M')an! Peak Oil, Peak Uranium, Peak Solar Panels, and now Peak Metals. Does anybody else sense a trend developing here?

[Gorm]

I beg to disagree here.

There is a lot of metal out there, and if shit hits the fan some kind of die-off will occure. There will be plenty more to go around. Think about all the cars that will go nowere, the lamp-posts that will not shine, the aluminium-cans that will not be recykled because it will bee too expensive to use aluminium as beer-storage. And so on.

It is a lot.

Rigth now in the age of extrem overproduction metals are precius. That will end with oil I think. how many coins, forks and spoons are not already in peopels houses? How long will these sources last as crafting-material? I think generations.

Demand will die.

[TorrKing]

I agree with Gorm.

I don't think the stone age will ever return. In some, isolated places it may, but as a general rule there will be metal around in plentiful supply for a very long time. The only danger is that since our civilisation leaves us enormous amounts of usable garbage we may in time forget how to extract and melt ore. And then we may return to the stone age, but that is at least 10000 years from now, I think.

Iron rusts, so much of the metal will be lost within 100-200 years, but concrete reinforcement for instance, is pretty much protected from the elements. Such relatively easily accessible sources may keep us going for a very long time.

Edit: Still, lack of oil will make metals much more expensive than they are today. Though demand will decrease, production costs will be much higher.

Torjus Gaaren

[Leanan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')till, lack of oil will make metals much more expensive than they are today. Though demand will decrease, production costs will be much higher.

[PolestaR]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Gorm', 'I') beg to disagree here.

There is a lot of metal out there, and if shit hits the fan some kind of die-off will occure. There will be plenty more to go around. Think about all the cars that will go nowere, the lamp-posts that will not shine, the aluminium-cans that will not be recykled because it will bee too expensive to use aluminium as beer-storage. And so on.

It is a lot.

Rigth now in the age of extrem overproduction metals are precius. That will end with oil I think. how many coins, forks and spoons are not already in peopels houses? How long will these sources last as crafting-material? I think generations.

Demand will die.